Wouldn’t it be just my luck that Teays Valley would get a wine and tapas place right after I move to Kentucky? Yep, it sure was.

During my visits back to Wild and Wonderful I frequently meet my girlfriends at The Wine Valley. I was instantly impressed the first time I walked in. The interior is handsomely furnished with several comfy, cozy seating areas comprised of large upholstered chairs and sofas, and even a fireplace. We are sure to make reservations so we can request the seating area in front of the fireplace.

I have sampled several of the food offerings including the Wine Valley flatbread, the cheese board, and the tiramisu. Overall, the food has not delivered on the high expectations set by the enticing menu descriptions and the artful presentation. However, the food nicely complements the wines and work together to provide a great experience. I feel so fancy and trendy when I’m there. My favorite item is the cheese board: you select a combination of cheeses to be served with crackers, grapes, and figs. Paired with a wine flight, it is as decadent an experience one can have in a strip mall in Teays Valley.

We were very fortunate to meet at The Wine Valley one Friday night when they hosted a jazz guitarist. He was amazing! He accepted requests and knew how to play every one we gave him. The relaxing jazz music made our experience even better.

If you haven’t been to The Wine Valley yet, you must go. Get a little bit gussied up, grab your girlfriend or your date, and go have a nice time sipping wine and nibbling on beautiful food.

I give The Wine Valley Three Forks for food and an earnest recommendation for fun.

As I was about to embark on an eight-week nutrition challenge with other members of my gym, I decided there was no better time than now to load up on some not-so-diet-friendly grub, a last hoorah, if you will. A super strict paleo diet does not allow grains, sugar, alcohol or dairy products, so I needed to get my fill of those forbidden foods before the next eight weeks. Pizza was the first thing to come to mind. But I wasn’t feeling just your ordinary pizza with typical sauce, toppings and cheese; I was craving something different, unique and interesting.

It was a rare Saturday that my husband wasn’t working, so we slept in (all the way to 7:15, but after getting up before 5:00 am everyday, that is sleeping in.) We enjoyed a couple of cups of coffee and then had a late breakfast. We spent the afternoon with family so by 4:00 we were starving. I’d already established the diet blowout was going to go down, so off to Hurricane we went.

Mountain Pie Company (MPC) opened about four months ago with limited hours, and is still open just Wednesday through Saturday each week from 4:30 to 10:00 pm, midnight on Saturdays. I see the point of these limited hours for a small, new restaurant, but this place may want to rethink those limited hours once it gets cold. My first visit was probably in late May or early June. Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long for a table that night, but the dining room filled up rather quickly after we were seated. This doesn’t prove to be too difficult since the dining room is very small; I mean tiny.

The landlord has since built an uncovered patio off the side of the dining room, which was a huge plus this summer and fall. Everyone I’ve spoken to said whenever they’ve gone and anytime I’ve driven by, it was packed and people were waiting outside for a table. Good for MPC!

This last visit Marshall and WVU both had noon home games that day. We arrived right at 4:30 and were the first customers that weren’t family of one of the owners. It was a warmish afternoon so we chose to sit on the patio. In a matter of minutes, all the patio tables were full of MU fans with a WVU fan sprinkled here and there.

We both ordered a beverage- MPC’s seasonal draft selection, Southern Tier Pumking, for him and a Woodchuck Amber bottle for me. MPC has a decent selection of craft beers on tap and in bottles. But what I forgot about was their housemade sangria until I saw a pitcher of it arrive at a nearby table. Since I was forking the place, I felt it was my duty to give it a try. Neither my husband nor I are big wine drinkers, but we both LOVED this sangria. My husband likened it to grape juice. I didn’t completely disagree, but I definitely tasted other flavors. Our twenty-something server was ever so helpful when asked what exactly was in it, “a blend of a few wines and fruit juice, but I’m not sure which ones.” (Thanks for that detailed explanation!) But she assured us they did make it in-house and that it was very popular. At $6/glass and as tasty as it was, the (rather large) pitcher at $19 seemed to be the better value.

Enough about the drinks. (Order the sangria! You won’t be disappointed!) Let’s move on to the food. It’s called Mountain Pie Company for a reason…the “pies.” In this case, they are more like personal pies, as each is prepared on a crust of the Indian bread, naan, and are about eight to nine inch pizzas. I chose the Inigo Montoya pie and Husband chose the Meat and Cheese pie. More about those later. We started with stuffed mushrooms with a choice of sausage, crab or artichoke/spinach stuffing for $8.00. We chose the artichoke/spinach stuffing and enjoyed eight piping hot, bubbly, melty medium-sized mushrooms. The filing was a lot like that of spinach/artichoke dip found in other restaurants. I thought they could have used a little more artichokes and spinach, but who am I kidding; it’s the warm gooey cream cheese that makes the dip.

We also elected to share a bowl of lobster bisque for $3.00. It seemed like a great bargain since lobster is so pricy, but it was disappointing to say the least. Aside from it being just barely luke warm when it arrived at our table, it was very short on lobster. I wasn’t even sure if I even got any lobster in any of the bites I got. “Meh” is the best way for me to describe this soup.

Our pizzas arrived shortly after we finished our appetizers. My Inigo Montoya pizza consisted of steak, horseradish/chive cheese, mozzarella cheese and banana peppers on an alfredo/horseradish base drizzled with A1 sauce. If you like horseradish, you’ll really enjoy this pizza. I’m not a huge fan of A1 sauce, but it was a very nice addition and I was glad I didn’t ask for it to be nixed like I’d initially thought.

The Meat and Cheese pie didn’t have the exceptionally good looks that my pizza had, but it sure made up for it in flavor. Husband likes it spicy, so he added ghost pepper cheese. (Though the ghost pepper is the hottest pepper in the world, this cheese was more on the heat level of a jalepeno or a serrano.) There was enough of each meat to taste them individually without the pizza being too meaty or too greasy.

On our previous visit, we got the Pompei with spicy sausage, shrimp, ghost pepper cheese, gorgonzola, red onion and jalepenos on a garlic sauce. This should light up anyone’s mouth, but surprisingly, it wasn’t as hot as expected, but it was very flavorful. We also got the Steak and Gorgonzola pie. Other than the obvious, toppings include red onion, tomatoes, banana peppers on a tomato sauce. We enjoyed both pizzas, but agreed they could have been cooked a little longer so that the crust was crisper. The second time around I noticed more crispness to the crust. Other interesting pizza choices are Buffalo Mountain with grilled chicken, gorgonzola and mozzarella on a white sauce and the Freaky Greek with feta, tomatoes, spinach, red peppers, kalamata olives on an olive oil base. You can also create your own pizza from an extensive list of toppings and sauces.

Pizzas might be MPC’s specialty, but that’s not all that’s on the menu. Other appetizers include tomatoes with your choice of the same mushroom stuffings, wings with your choice of four sauces, a cheesy Asiago bread dip, Mountain Pie Cheese (ghost pepper cheese melted on toast) or Hot Mountain Dip, MPC’s version of buffalo chicken dip (you know, that pot luck favorite made with cream cheese, chicken and hot sauce.) There are also a few interesting salads such as a wedge salad with blue cheese dressing, bacon and tomatoes, the Feta World Peace (get it?), mixed greens with feta, walnuts and cranberries and raspberry vinaigrette, and the Mountain Goat which is roma tomatoes sliced and stuffed with goat cheese and drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

Entrees include Mountain Lion, which is actually marinated pork loin served with pierogies. Again, interesting…. Also on the entree’ menu is lasagna, penne pasta with your choice of sauce and meat and M.P.C.M.C., a fancy mac ‘n cheese to which you can add chicken if you’d like.

MPC is unique and interesting as I stated more than once. I like this place and I will eat here again, several times, and I will continue to explore the other unique and interesting items on the menu. FOUR FORKS.

It’s sure been a long time since I’ve written a post, huh? During that span of time I reconnected with my high school love, ran off to Louisville KY, got married, changed jobs, and started a Louisville restaurant blog called NewtoLou. I come back to West Virginia frequently, mostly because my girls are finishing school here, but also because I miss my friends, family, and my true home. You can take the girl out of West Virginia but you can’t take West Virginia out of the girl! (At least not THIS girl!) I’m sure all my new acquaintances are completely sick to death of hearing me wax poetic about the mountain state.

I have been suffering inner conflict. Should I tell you all about Muriale’s during football season or not? As you read my review will you come to understand just how perfect a plan it would be to include Muriale’s in your pregame (night game, that is) ritual and I don’t want to have to wait on a table as a result of sharing this great tip. But alas, I have a duty to the Fork You public and I will proceed.

As a mother, a wife, a victim of Pretend OCD, and a food fanatic, I have lots of rules and policies. Some of my rules include: 1) spread the shower curtain back over the length of the tub when you’re done; 2) you must be completely ready for school before you’re allowed to goof off in any way; and 3) check the order before pulling away from the dive thru. One very important policy is this: when traveling to Route 50 and points north, one must eat Italian. There are some great places in the Clarksburg area alone.

On our way to the WVU home opener last weekend, I was prepared to follow the policy. My husband took a little convincing. (I found out later he thought I was going to take him to some froo froo gourmet place.) (Is that how you spell “froo froo”? You know what I mean.) I successfully campaigned for Oliverio’s , my favorite in the area, and my mouth was already watering at the thought of pasta and pine nuts. We approached the parking lot and realized they don’t serve lunch on Saturdays. That’s fine for ordinary Saturdays but they are missing an opportunity on Night Game Saturdays. Just sayin’. My next most favorite is Muriale’s so we skipped the visit we planned to Mountaineer World (we honestly don’t need more WV gear) and headed on up I-79.

My husband had never been to Muriale’s before. Poor thing. He even grew up in Buckhannon! I was more than happy to accompany him on his virgin visit. We arrived around 1:30 and had no trouble obtaining a table. There are great old photographs on the walls and displays of wine, pasta, and oils. I quickly located a lunch special that was too good of a deal to pass up: you can choose from several pastas (ravioli, spaghetti, rigatoni, manicotti or linguine with fresh vegetables) and also receive a house salad and a slice of garlic cheese toast ALL FOR ONLY $10!! I would pay almost that much for a Wendy’s combo meal. We both chose the manicotti.

We were served a basket of bread and butter when the salads were delivered. The housemade Italian dressing was tangy and herbalicious. Husband chose the housemade balsamic and offered me a taste, which was also very good. Salad toppings included roasted red and yellow peppers, large marinated green olives, tomato, pickled onions, and shredded cheese.

Manicotti Lunch Special

Our lunch specials were so generously portioned we could barely eat it all. Well, I didn’t eat all of mine. I gave it my best effort but had to leave just a few bites, even after my husband had a little of my meatball. We received two large manicotti stuffed with an herb and ricotta cheese mixture generously covered in meat sauce and a large meatball. The meatball was a bonus I had not expected since there was no mention of it in the menu description. The meat sauce was richly and deeply flavored, and had obviously spent a good amount of time simmering. The pasta was delicate and the ricotta mixture flavorful. For me, I could have done with more ricotta to balance the richness of the sauce. Plus, I really like ricotta. The meatball was tender and well-seasoned. I wasn’t too crazy about the garlic cheese bread. I LOVE the garlic toast at Fazio’s and declare it is exactly how garlic toast should be made: crisp, almost dripping with butter, and significantly tasting of garlic. Muriale’s sprinkles the bread with some herbs and the oregano totally overpowered any taste of butter or garlic. I could do without the cheese on it, too.

This was a meal worthy of the Number One Foam Finger. What a great deal for fresh, homemade, delicious Italian fare. We were so satisfied from the meal, we didn’t even bother to grill the hot dogs we had packed for tailgating. I am going to the Oklahoma game next weekend with my daughters and hope to convince them that a pregame meal at Muriale’s is just what we need to fuel up for an evening of Mountaineer excitement. Another nice touch is that all the waitstaff wear WVU apparel on game day. It made us feel more comfortable coming in with our t-shirts and face stickers and also provided a festive atmosphere.

The service was excellent. Our water glasses never went below the half-full mark and the entire staff worked together seamlessly to meet every customer’s needs quickly and efficiently. Our server was friendly and fun.

yep, it was that good

Even though I now live in the big city of Louisville, there are just some things that can’t be done better than in Wild and Wonderful West Virginia: beautiful scenery, friendly people, an exciting college football atmosphere, and some great traditional Italian food. The quote of the day, from my husband, after devouring his meal and licking the bowl clean (as in the photo): “I don’t know why I even doubted you”.

Today we welcome a guest forker, Tara. Tara, like me, is a self-proclaimed foodie. She’s been following Fork You for a while now and when she found out that the “cast” had dwindled to just me, she volunteered to help out. If all goes well, you may see more forks from Tara in the future.

Ashley says…

I remember the Quarrier Diner only as far back as the early 1990’s when I got my first “grown up job” in downtown Charleston. Back then, before my employer relocated to the east end, my co-workers and I made it a habit to regularly visit different lunch spots rather than rotate just a couple of favorites. But the few times I visited QD back then, the nostalgia is the one thing that stuck out in my mind. I loved the art deco look of it then and I was pleasantly surprised when I finally made it back after almost 20 years.

Quarrier Diner originally opened in the 1930’s and closed its doors in 2001. It was reopened by new owners in November, 2011 along with the basement bar, now known as Timothy’s, that used to be known as the Tap Room. The new owners wanted to keep the art deco look and feel of the interior, and they definitely did. The original booths and soda fountain with stools are still there and you get the feeling of an “old school” diner when you walk in.

My first visit after the latest opening was for an office luncheon. There were 10 of us and we were seated in the back of the main floor. Though it doesn’t appear to be a place you’d expect to be served alcoholic drinks, diners in the main dining room can order from the basement bar, Timothy’s. A few of us ordered beers and glasses of wine.

Looking over the menus, I saw a few in our party looking at the menu and turning it over with a strange look on their faces as if they were thinking, “this is it?” The menu is somewhat limited, but for me, sometimes a large menu makes decision making very tough. The lunch menu is mostly made up of sandwiches, with a few appetizers and salads and a handful of entrees such as grilled salmon, fried chicken and shrimp and fries. A few of the people in our party ordered the soup of the day, which was potato, as a starter. All three raved about how good the soup was.

Macaroni and Cheese

Other orders at our table (I unfortunately forgot to get pictures) included the QD Burger ($8.75 + $1.00 to add cheese), Baby Spinach Salad with salmon and apple vinaigrette ($8.50 plus an upcharge for the salmon), Jamaican Pulled Chicken Panini ($9.75), Black Bean Burger ($7.50), Club sandwich ($9.25) and French Dip ($9.25), with each having either fries or mac and cheese as their sides. I had my heart set on the Gigantic Corn Dog and was a little disappointed to find out they were out of them that day. So instead I ordered The Quarrier, which is corned beef, pastrami, Swiss cheese, cole slaw and QD sauce (kind of like 1000 dressing) grilled on marble rye. My sandwich was very good. I liked the combination of the coolness of the slaw with the warm meats and cheese. This sandwich was so good I didn’t want to put it down. But I had to put it down. I had to try the mac and cheese. I had read in an article online that QD’s mac and cheese was sort of their “signature” dish for dinner, when customers could customize it and add such things as bacon, ham, jalepenos, peas and other items. This mac and cheese was TO DIE FOR. The only problem with it was that it was just side dish-size. I actually thought about ordering a second helping, but I didn’t want the boss to think I was a glutton. The “mac” isn’t really macaroni. It’s a large spiral noodle with enough twists and turns that allowed for a lot of cheese to cling to it. And the cheese……. mmmm……It was creamy, well-seasoned and very flavorful. I went on and on about it so much that a couple of others at the table ordered some for themselves. My opinion is that QD should offer the mac and cheese with add-ins for lunch instead of just as a dinner entree.

My co-workers all liked what they ordered too, with the exception of one of the people who ordered the Club. She didn’t like it with “that kind of turkey” meaning with thick slices of a whole roasted turkey breast rather than processed deli-style turkey. Whaaaaattt??? I thought her sandwich looked really good. I also heard several favorable comments about the shoestring fries. Overall, we were all pleased with our meals.

After lunch, at around 2:45, we migrated downstairs to Timothy’s bar for a few drinks. At first we were told it wasn’t open yet, but a few minutes later the manager told us he was going to “play bartender” and open up. (Just for us! Thanks!) Plus they had a private Christmas party later that evening that he was preparing for. Timothy’s is really nice and cozy with several televisions on the walls and a bar with accent lights that really dressed it up. After a couple of hours and a few drinks later we were a little hungry again. This time we ordered chips and salsa and homemade potato chips from the bar menu. The chips and salsa were your typical run-of-the-mill-type, from a bag and a jar, but the potato chips were definitely homemade and were sprinkled with blue cheese and served with ranch dressing. Both were pretty much what we expected and were perfectly satisfying for what we wanted at the time.

Jamaican Pulled Chicken Panini

I went back to QD for lunch about three weeks after my initial visit. I wanted to try something else before I forked it. We were informed by our server that the menu was changing the following week and that a few things on the current menu (corn chowder, quiche and the (dammit!) corn dog) were no longer available. This time I tried the Jamaican Pulled Chicken Panini and my husband got the Steak and Cheese hoagie with fries, at a whopping $10.50. The panini is described as having, in addition to chicken and provolone, a sweet pepper relish, which was intriguing to me. Again, I HAD to get the mac and cheese. When the food arrived, both sandwiches were very pretty. My panini appeared to have an ample amount of chicken and fixins. But when I went to pick it up, the bottom slice of bread was soggy. I’m fairly sure this is from the juice from the Jamaican pulled chicken. The sogginess wasn’t enough to turn me off, though. This sandwich is really sweet. I don’t know if the sweetness is from just the pepper relish or from the relish and the chicken both. It had really good flavor, but it was a bit too sweet for me. I applied a liberal amount of salt to it and it tamed the sweetness quite a bit. My mac and cheese was just as excellent as the first time.

Steak and Cheese Hoagie with shoestring fries

The steak and cheese hoagie was bursting with steak, cheese, peppers and onions. It was steaming hot on a soft hoagie roll and was served with horseradish mayo on the side. It was a very tasty sandwich. The fries were nice and crisp too.

All in all, both of my visits were pretty good, though I believe the prices are a bit high for sandwiches and fries. Service both times was friendly, helpful and attentive. I will definitely go back to QD to check out their new menu or to at least have some more of that yummy mac and cheese! THREE FORKS

Tara says…..

Before I begin this, I must confess that this was not my first trip to the Quarrier Diner but it will likely be my last. My first visit, while it wasn’t bad, I wouldn’t say it was good either. It was just, meh. I could take it or leave it. So when Ashley suggested for my first review we both dine separately at Quarrier Diner and write up our experiences I was ready to give the diner another go. That being said, I came into this hoping to be impressed but not really expecting anything.

Each month my girlfriends and I attempt to get away for an evening out. This usually entails some dinner and drinks. So Saturday night when no one could decide where to dine, a friend suggested the Quarrier Diner, knowing ahead that I was supposed to review it. We thought there being seven of us, I’d have a lot to sample. I phoned the diner Saturday afternoon and made a reservation, just in case one was needed. The lady I spoke with was friendly and quickly promised to hold a spot for us.

Upon entering the diner, I knew right away why she was so friendly. Other than two tables, we were the only patrons. This is a large, well kept space. A space one would expect to see thriving on a Saturday night at 6 p.m. This did not bode well for our coming dinner. We were seated quickly as the staff had prepared a table in the back for our party. The ladies at the front of the house were friendly and welcoming. It gave me a smidge of hope.

Our waitress greeted us quickly and promptly informed us that they no longer carried the corn chowder, “because the chef took it with him.” I took this to mean the recipe, not the actual chowder, but who knows. She also told us they were in the process of changing the menu so when they ran out of certain items they just eighty-sixed them. Therefore, they no longer had the chicken or beef skewers, chicken artichoke spread, black bean cakes and possibly the meatloaf, but she had to check on that.

Hmm, that didn’t leave a whole lot to choose from. Fortunately, one of my girlfriends spotted an appetizer menu from the downstairs bar, Timothy’s. She asked if we were allowed to order from that menu as well and we were. That menu consisted of typical bar food: wings, potato skins, chips and salsa, and buffalo chicken dip. We ordered our drinks which consisted of a cabernet, three pinot grigios, a chardonnay and a Riesling. I mention this only because it caused a problem later on. The wines were priced at roughly $5 a glass, which was actually a little cheaper than I expected. We also agreed on the buffalo chicken dip, chips and salsa, spicy crab and corn dip, and Jamaican jerk wings. Our server also brought out rolls and butter. There were about three rolls in each basket. They were a mix of a multi-grain roll and some sort of onion roll. Both were good but I’m unsure as to whether they were pre-made.

Wings

The first round of drinks was delivered correctly as well as the appetizers. The best thing I can say about the chips and salsa is that the salsa was obviously out of a name brand jar. Think Tostitos chunky salsa. The chips were also just average corn tortilla chips, much like the kind you get at a Mexican joint. My friend enjoyed her wings but the jerk sauce was a little too sweet for me. The buffalo chicken dip can only be described as tasting like hot, spicy mayonnaise. It was served with tortilla chips but there were no chunks of chicken to be found and it clearly did not contain cheese. I’m sure most of you are familiar with the traditional buffalo chicken dip that contains shredded chicken, cream cheese, hot sauce, ranch or bleu cheese dressing, and cheddar cheese. This was not that. All seven of us agreed that it was inedible. We explained the situation to our waitress and she kindly took it back. The spicy crab and corn dip was much the same, a spicy mayonnaise with a tiny bit of corn and crab, which tasted really fishy. That dip was served with overly greasy pita chips. They were obviously house made but the layer of grease glistening atop the chips prevented any of us from sampling them. That, too, was sent back.

Judging from the appetizers, we were none too excited about ordering dinner but onward we trudged. We ordered another round of drinks which was severely bumbled. Those drinking Pinot Grigio were served Chardonnay and the one drinking Riesling was served Pinot Grigio. I get it. They’re all white wines so I’m sure it is easy to mix up but there has to be a reason servers in other establishments don’t make this mistake. I guess, to me, it’s akin to mixing up diet and regular soda. When I waited tables in college, I always made sure to place the drinks in a particular order so I knew what was what. Once alerted to the problem, the mistake was quickly corrected. As I’ve said, friendliness and prompt service is not this establishment’s problem.

Given the limited menu items, we all made up our minds fairly fast. Three friends ordered the QDeluxe burger described in the menu as “half pound hand-selected chopped Angus beef, bleu cheese, double-smoked bacon on a brioche onion bun. Served with all the trimmings” for $12.75. It came with two sides. All three patrons chose fries and green beans. Another ordered the poached pear and tossed greens salad which consisted of “candied pecans, crumbled bleu cheese and poppy seed dressing” for $5.50. Two others decided on the pasta primavera which was billed as “chef’s selection of fresh vegetables sautéed in olive oil with garlic and fresh herbs tossed with your choice of provolone or feta cheese” for $10.50. I ordered the bacon wrapped meatloaf which sounded delightful as described on the menu with a Guinness demiglace for $13.50. I chose a side salad and green beans for my accompaniments.

Pasta Primavera

The food arrived not quickly but in a decent time period being that it was supposedly freshly prepared. The burger looked good but did not appear to contain any bleu cheese. The fries were crisp but were definitely of the frozen variety. The primaveras also looked appetizing with a decent amount of zucchini, squash, mushrooms, onion and tomatoes heaped on top. All five friends were satisfied with their choices. I tried the fries, which as I’ve mentioned, were standard frozen fare but they were still tasty and crisp. I, however, did not get a chance to taste the burger but all assured me it was delicious and cooked to perfection. The primavera was overly oily and bland. It could have definitely used more garlic and perhaps a squeeze of lemon juice and splash of chicken stock.

Now onto the meatloaf. First, it was not bacon wrapped as described in the menu. It did have some sort of demiglace on it and consisted of two large slices. It was tasty but nothing extraordinary, just the average meatloaf you’d expect to find at the local Cracker Barrel. The green beans, however, were just like grandma makes. They were riddled with chunks of ham and were bursting with smoky flavor. Suffice it to say, those were gone in a second. The salad was an average iceberg lettuce, topped with cucumber, tomato and croutons. The croutons were house made but were not very good. They were greasy and soft.

The pear salad was something else, to say the least. I wish I had gotten a picture of it but with all the conversing and tasting it was nearly gone before I got a chance to even think of a photo. Most of the salad was normal, meaning the spring mix greens, candied pecans and crumbled bleu cheese were there. The pear, however, we could not be certain was there. There were two chunks of a purplish, citrus looking fruit. We passed it around trying to decipher its identity, daring each other to try it. Honestly, up close this thing looked like a raw piece of chicken ringed in purple. My friend and I took the bait and took a bite. Yep, it was definitely a pear but of the canned variety. It was mushy and just sad-looking. The pears, as the main part of the pear and tossed greens salad, was discarded.

One of the girls placed a to go order for her husband. He requested the QD rotisserie chicken, green beans, and corn. While I didn’t get to sample it for obvious reasons, it looked good. Other items on the menu included pork chops, trout, grilled salmon and shrimp, steak, and a house made macaroni and cheese that can be topped with a variety of different veggies or proteins including smoked sausage and chicken. They also serve prime rib on Fridays and Saturdays. However, given our experience I’d go in expecting to be surprised as it doesn’t seem they have much in stock. The diner also boasts Saranac root beer on tap which would entice me to give it one more try but I can get the same stuff accompanied with much better food at Pies and Pints.

I really liked that the employees at this place were so friendly but after dining there it leads me to think that they’re making up for sub par food. If this place really can get its act together and retain a decent chef, I think it’d be worth trying again but as is, it’s a no-go for me. TWO FORKS.

Based on our conflicting reviews, it may appear that Tara and I went to two different restaurants. But that’s not the case. We both went at different times of the day on different days. Our opinions are obviously based on our own experiences. Our reviews’ sole purpose is to put the public on notice of an establishment’s fare and to give an overall opinion. But don’t take our views as gospel. We encourage you to support our local businesses and check them out for yourself and form your own opinion.

For months after its target date of May of this year to open, I kept checking every time I drove by the old Shoney’s in Teays Valley to see if the new Fat Patty’s was open. Then finally one day in August, YES! It was finally open and it was packed! Every time since then that I’ve driven by, it’s been the same way, packed! And it appeared that way the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I got a half a day off of work that day and my husband was off too so we decided to see if it was worth all that it seemed hyped up to be. It was around 2:00 when we decided to go, crossing our fingers we wouldn’t have to wait long for a table. As we turned onto the side road that leads to the Fireside Grill, the Hampton Inn and Fat Patty’s, there it was, what we’ve seen every time we’d driven by, a long line of cars spilling out of the parking lot and lining the road. At least that’s what we thought. As we drove on into the parking lot, we noticed plenty of empty spaces. We went on in the restaurant and were immediately seated in a half-empty dining room. WTH? It made sense as we were leaving. It was around 3:00 and we noticed several employees walking through the parking lot towards the cars parked along the road. OOOOOHHHHH….so THAT’S why it looks so crowded all the time!

The decor of this Fat Patty’s is a lot like the one in Barboursville, wide open with a bar on one end, dark wood booths and trim and lots of green. There is Marshall sports memorabilia and other sports-related items donning most of the walls at both locations. Both locations have several televisions scattered throughout the dining room and a long bar that runs along one whole wall at the back of the building, also littered with tvs.

I’d eaten at the Barboursville location one time a while back and I’d perused the menu online several times so I knew what type of food Fat Patty’s offers. Obviously, they are all about burgers, hence the name. However, they do offer several appetizers, several other sandwich options, salads, and a few other entrees such as grilled steak or chicken with your choice of two sides and bread, chicken tenders or fried fish basket with fries and slaw. These menu items are towards the back of menu, so, they obviously aren’t what Fat Patty’s wants you ordering.

We looked over the appetizers section of the menu hoping something would really jump out at us. You know, something different and unique. All that stared at us were the same ol’ same ol’s you can find at most other sports bar restaurants like wings, nachos, onion rings, quesadillas, fried mushrooms, cheese fries, jalapeno poppers, etc. You know the line up I’m talking about. So with nothing new and exciting to try, we passed. Now it was time for the daunting task of deciding what to order from the huge selection of burgers and sandwiches. I’m really not much of a burger fan, but Fat Patty’s has some that sound delish. I considered getting the Black and Bleu because I love bleu cheese, or maybe the Luau Cow for its ham and pineapple. Hold on, maybe I’ll have the Lasso Patty that has bacon, cheddar and BBQ sauce. Decisions, decisions. Then I looked at the other sandwich options. Boy the Nitty Gritty Grinder (a French dip) sounds pretty good. Oh wait, there’s that ham/pineapple combo on the Hawaiian Ham. Oooooh, a Reuben. Yep! That’s it! I love Reubens and I really wasn’t feeling a burger. So I ordered the Reuben and onion rings instead of potato chips, for an upcharge of $1.25. Husband opted for the WV Steak Sandwich which is grilled thick-sliced bologna, bacon, American cheese, grilled onions, raw red onions and LTM on a sub bun.

My Reuben arrived looking like most other Reubens, on marble rye, which I prefer because there are no caraway seeds, with the usual cast of Reuben characters.

Along side it was a generous portion of previously-frozen onion rings. It was a decent Reuben, but nothing to make me jump up and down over it. Same thing with the rings.

The WV Steak Sandwich was impressive looking, but a little difficult to eat. My husband made a point that bologna is round, so that makes it tough to put it on a long sub bun. The pieces were thick and cut in half. They didn’t stack too well and stacked with all the other toppings made this sandwich a mess. I hadn’t had bologna in years, so my first bite took me back to my childhood when bologna was a staple in my family’s house. This sandwich came with chips.

On my first visit to Fat Patty’s, I got the Low Carb Burger Meal which was a choice of any burger with a side salad. I chose the Lava Patty burger, which is a spicy patty covered with jalapenos and a cayenne cheese sauce. The burger was decent, but again, nothing to write home about. The salad was a very small, boring side salad. My husband had wings that visit at the recommendation of a family member. I tried them and we both thought they were average at best.

I know, I know, it’s a burger place and I should try more of the burgers before giving a proper fork. But I’m usually not a burger person, so the items I have tried are ones that I would get at other places therefore constituting a comparison. For that reason, a proper forking is justified. So here it is. I give Fat Patty’s TWO FORKS. Besides the burger options, the rest of the menu doesn’t offer anything very exciting. Our sandwiches were good, but not blow-you-away good. Overall it got just an “eh” from us. The Fireside Grill has become my favorite restaurant around and I can’t see myself passing it up to go back to Fat Patty’s. As a matter of fact, I felt guilty even going to Fat Patty’s in the first place. I hope nobody from Fireside saw us going in or leaving. Shhhhhhh……

You know those little hometown restaurants like you see on tv where the owners and waitresses know all the customers and they chat about family, the farm, etc.? Tammy’s Country Kitchen is just like that. It’s not unusual to hear, “Hey, Earl. How’s Betty?” or “How’s the grandbaby?” or a laugh being shared as you are sitting there having your meal. You get a real family feel at Tammy’s. Tammy herself is the one you’ll usually hear. She not only owns the restaurant, but she’s one of the three servers. Her daughter and her mother are the other two. If you get there on one of the days her mother is serving, once you meet her, you’ll feel like you’ve known her for years. She’s a sweetie. They all are, actually.

Located on State Route 817 (old US Route 35) in Frazier’s Bottom, across the river from Buffalo, Tammy’s is the only restaurant within several miles. Obviously the customers are mostly regulars and I figure most probably live in the area or over in Buffalo. I guess you could say my husband and I are regulars. We have been eating there about four times a month for the last six years. My husband loves to give Tammy a hard time and she’s not shy to give it right back to him.

Tammy’s specializes in, as you might have guessed, country cooking. Every day there are a couple of dinner specials in addition to the full menu. Some of the specials include salmon cakes and meatloaf. And there’s always a list of daily side dish specials like broccoli casserole, sweet potato casserole and macaroni salad, to name a few. Regular menu items range from a pinto bean dinner with fried potatoes and cornbread to spaghetti with meat sauce to soups, salads, burgers and other sandwiches. Breakfast is served all day.

Pinto Bean dinner with fried potatoes and cornbread

My favorite time to visit Tammy’s is for breakfast. It’s where I get the best omelet I’ve ever had. I always order the western omelet. What makes this omelet so good is 1) they use real eggs, not liquid eggs from a carton; 2) it includes big chunks of baked ham instead of little ham pellets; and 3) it contains American cheese. The American cheese is the real kicker for me. There’s just something about an omelet with American cheese that sets if apart from omelets with cheddar cheese. The omelet is huge too. It’s served with either hash browns or home fries. If I’m eating carbs, I get the home fries. They are real potatoes, peeled and cut by hand and fried in a skillet or on a flat top just like you’d have at home.

Western omelet with home fries and wheat toast

I also really like Tammy’s pancakes. But my one complaint is they are too small. You get three cakes that are about the size of a small coffee can lid. I’m sure that’s really all a person should eat, health-wise, but it just leaves me wanting more. The breakfast menu also contains other typical items such as eggs your way, sausage, biscuits and gravy and french toast. I only have one other complaint. They serve “fake butter” or “spread” to customers. I once asked if they had any real butter and was told no by Tammy herself. Surely they aren’t using that crap to cook with. She could have brought me some from the kitchen like other places have done.

On our most recent visit, I opted for a simple grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of Tammy’s taco soup. The soup contains a lot of the components of a taco, ground beef, tomatoes, peppers, black beans and spices. It’s topped with a generous amount of shredded cheese and is served with sour cream and tortilla chips. It’s got good flavor and is pretty filling. The grilled cheese was above average (grilled with REAL BUTTER, I’m sure.) I saved two cheesy bites of it for last.

I’ve had the salmon cakes more than once. They are close to like my mom makes. Same goes with the beans, fried potatoes and cornbread. And the meatloaf is really good too.

Meatloaf, broccoli casserole and sweet potato casserole

I’ve also had the baked chicken breast with gravy, the ground beef patty with grilled onions and gravy, a Reuben, a Chef’s salad and a Grilled Chicken salad. One of my favorite sides is the sweet potato casserole. It’s super sweet and topped with chopped pecans. It’s really more like dessert. Oh, speaking of dessert, Tammy’s has several homemade options each day such as pig pickin’ cake (a white layer cake with coconut, orange and other flavors), fruit cobblers, butter pecan cake (sold out our recent visit) or if she gets strawberries from The Strawberry Lady, strawberry shortcake (with a homemade yellow sponge cake.)

Tammy’s food is nothing fancy, just good old-fashioned country cooking that’s served with a smile in a clean, nicely-decorated, homey-feeling place. THREE FORKS.

The Charleston Gazette reported yesterday that Aubrey’s Yorkshire Pub in St. Albans had announced that they were closing their doors. It’s always sad to see a locally-owned place close, especially one in my hometown. I have only eaten at Aubrey’s twice, but both visits were really nice. The rest of the Fork You crew forked Aubrey’s in 2010. You can read their reviews here. Sorry to see you go, Aubrey’s.